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Saturday, June 18, 2011

Oven Fries a la Nicole

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I mentioned this recipe when I wrote about Joie de Vivre, and this week I finally made these potatoes. You may know that I love potatoes. They are my top favorite food. And these looked so appealing in the book photograph that I just knew they would be great. And they were!

Oven Fries a la Nicole

My cousin Nicole is famous for her oven fries. These are a great substitute for deep-fried potatoes and everyone adores this dish. I always use Yukon gold potatoes for this recipe. Their taste and texture really make a difference in this simple dish. This serves 4.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.Mix the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and herbes de Provence in a bowl.Cut peeled potatoes in half lengthwise and make 3 to 4 wedges from each half.Put potatoes in the bowl with olive oil mixture and toss to coat.Arrange potato wedges on a sheet pan one by one so that the point of each wedge faces up and the rounded part is on the pan.Cook in oven until tender and brown, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Well, first off, I had to look up what smashed garlic meant. First peel the clove. Then you take the flat side of your knife and using the heel of your hand, smash it down on the garlic clove. Then chop it roughly and use the knife again to press it firmly onto the cutting board and move it back and forth until you have sort of a mashed paste. I stopped before making the 'mashed paste.'

I didn't have bay or oregano, so used just thyme and rosemary. I used 1/2 cup olive oil instead of 3/4 which just seemed too much. I probably could have used even a bit less than 1/2 cup.

I used a 9x13 pan lightly greased with cooking spray.

I will try this with Yukon potatoes when I have them. This time I used what was in the house, some lovely red potatoes, which worked great.

As for the wedges, I've learned over time that roasted potatoes are best when the pieces are smaller.

Otherwise, they seem to take forever to cook. As it was, even with the smaller pieces, they took an hour to brown nicely.

These are some of the best potatoes I've ever tasted! They really are a good substiture for french fries. We've recently given up our fryer because, well, we ate them too often. They are irresistible to me (and to Tom). Happily, I've found this recipe which is almost as good, and much better for us. And don't these potatoes look absolutely wonderful?!

24 comments:

Nan, these look really good. Hubby doesn't do well with or even like garlic very much, but I suppose it could be left out. I am needing to find better ways to cook these days and baking fries seems a good idea.

I'm a great lover of potatoes too so I will definitely be trying these. I especially like your notes after the recipe. I thought 3/4 cup of oil seemed like a lot too. I'm going to give this a try this week.

Last weekend, we made back of lamb and roast spuds; I love potatoes, too, and my preferred way of eating them is either as a mash with just the right amount of butter and muscat in it, or made in the oven, similar to your recipe. I use olive oil, oregano and/or rosemary, salt and pepper, and like you, I cut them into relatively small pieces.

Lesley, I have tried that but it seems less messy if I peel it first. I am amazed, amazed that you wrote. I have been thinking about you lately and was going to try the old email to get in touch with you.

Now that I am a grandmother, it seems that I am often late in replying to your most-appreciated comments. But I read them as soon as they come in, and I will write as soon as I can. Please do come back and check. I love these blogging conversations. A little addendum - I've just spent quite a long time catching up with dear notes you left me months ago!! I do hope you can get back to read them. And I'm trying to be much more prompt now!

Also, you may comment on any post, no matter how old, and I will see it.